Bach in the dark brings chamber music to life

From the tiny town of Hillston in western NSW to the crypt of St James' in the Sydney CBD, it is about 700 kilometres. But cellist and music educator Rachel Scott can trace a direct musical line between the distant locations.

In 2008 Scott, accompanied by a sparkly purple cello, went to teach at a Hillston school. It was the first time most of the kids had seen such an instrument and it was an instant hit, quickly dubbed the "stunt cello". Scott happened to be teaching her year 4 class in a raised, demountable building with a resonant floor.

Cellist Rachel Scott at the crypt in St James Church.Credit:Dallas Kilponen

"I realised that not only would they be able to hear the cello but they would be able to feel it," she says. "I got them to lie around me like spokes in a wheel and I played the Bach prelude. It was one of those moments where you think, 'I'm going to remember this until the day I die.'

"Then this little boy put up his head and said, 'Rachel, this is the most beautiful thing I ever heard'. I thought 'OK, what do I do?' so I kept playing and I played the entire suite to the kids. They were really listening. They were really in the moment."

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Later, returning to Sydney in a "little bouncy plane", she realised the kids had taught her a vital lesson in how to listen to music.

The challenge she set herself was to present chamber music to an adult audience and replicate the intense engagement she found in that Hillston classroom.

"I realised that when I really listen to music I'm in the dark and I like to have a glass of wine," she says. "I also wanted it to be a little bit quirky and a little bit different."

And that was when she discovered the crypt under the Francis Greenway-designed St James' in King Street. The crypt – a long narrow space with a vaulted ceiling – has served many purposes in the nearly 200 years since the church was consecrated, being used as a school, accommodation for incumbent priests and as shelter for soldiers during both world wars.

But to Scott, it was the perfect venue for staging an intimate musical experience for about 70 guests. She blacked out the crypt, arranged for wine to be served and played the same Bach suites for unaccompanied cello that had so entranced the children in Hillston.

Bach in the Dark was born.

Since then there have been about 70 concerts in the series with instrumentation that has included cello with accordion, guitar, violin and voice – but always with the music of Bach at its centre.

The effect on the audience, says Scott, is "magical".

"The whole thing is designed so that people are really in the moment – so that they can forget the phone bill or the Greek financial crisis or whatever and they are just listening like those kids just listened. It's beautiful.

"The audience is not the usual classical audience of 70-pluses. There are children, there are 30-pluses. It's a really weird mix of people. So many people tell me it's their first classical music experience."

Scott believes it's a combination of factors that has made her venture such a success – from the music to the quirky venue to the fact the concerts are only an hour or so, making them accessible to those new to classical music.

And then there is the darkness, which forces listeners into the moment.

"There is nothing you can do," she says. "You're not looking at the shadows thrown in the stone or the person next to you so all you can do is either focus on the sound – which is quite beautiful down here. We rely so much on our eyes all the time it's quite interesting to stop this feedback loop of the eyes and only rely on the ears."

It all combines to create an intimacy between performers and audience that brings chamber music closer to its original intentions.

"I believe the audience should be able to hear the musicians breathe and to see them smile," Scott says. "Chamber music is in essence a conversation between musicians and if you are all the way up on stage it becomes something different which in my opinion is not as successful.

"Classical musicians are their own worst enemies. We're so up our own arses. This is a way to make things deliberately a little casual."

There's only one minor drawback to the intimacy of sitting in the dark being captivated by Bach's music, Scott says.

"Someone always knocks over a glass at some point!"

Bach in the Dark is at St James Church on August 14, 15 and 22. See bachinthedark.com for more dates.